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Study: Solar benefits outweigh costs in NC

North Carolinians could save $26 million a year if we added 500 megawatts of solar generation according to a study prepared by Crossborder Energy based in Berkley, Ca.

John Downey of the Charlotte Business Journal reported on the release and offered the following:

Wholesale solar involves power sold to utilities through power-purchase agreements with solar developers such as Strata Solar of Chapel Hill and SunEnergy1 of Huntersville. Distributed generation solar is solar “behind the meter,” which means solar projects in which the owner uses the power to offset some of its own demand for electricity and sells excess power to the utility through net metering.

“This study confirms what we are experiencing every day as more and more solar projects are being developed in North Carolina with benefits flowing to local communities,” said Ralph Thompson, chairman of the North Carolina Clean Energy Business Alliance.

The findings could get a real-world test before long. Developers are expected to build 370 megawatts of new solar capacity in the state next year — close to the 400 megawatt wholesale figure — according to projections by industry tracker NPD Solarbuzz.